Elevator-door



(No Model.)

Patenied lan. 3l, |899. D. J. HARDING;

ELEVATOR DOOR.

(Application filed Sept. 4, 1897.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

wi I? n come@ 3513 Zvi@ D. J. HARDING..

ELEVATUR DOOR.

` (Application mea sept. 4, 1897.)

(No Model.) Sheets-Sheet 2.

l @VMS www@ @vb/vento@ .27 @JIR- 2" Nirnn STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL J. IIARDING, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO IVILLIAM M. BOYLE, OF OORSIOANA, TEXAS.

ELEVATO R-DOO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 618,664, dated January 31, 1899.

Application filed September 4, 1897. Serial No. 650,611. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom, it 17m/y concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL J. HARDING, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevator-Doors, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention has relation to improvements in elevator-doors; and-it consists in the novel arrangement and combination of parts more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical section taken through an elevator-shaft between two floors. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the sliding doors. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail of the casing on line c x of Fig. 4, in which casing is mounted the stem bearing the engaging rollers for the grooves of the doors'. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the same with part of the elevator-wall broken away. Fig. `5 isa section on lineg/ yof Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is arear elevation of the doors, showing the locking-latch carried thereby; and Fig. 7 is a detail elevation of the elevator-car, showing the position of the striking-fingers operating in connection with the latch.

The object of myinvention is to construct an elevator-door which will be automatically closed by the elevator-car as the latter leaves any particular landing or door and be opened by the elevator-car as the latter approaches the landing. In detail it may be described as follows: Referring to the drawings, l represents an elevator-shaft, and 2 2 sections of adjacent floors. 3 are sliding doors hung on rollers 4, traveling along rails 5 above the floor. Disposed along the inner surface of each door is a V-shaped groove 6, the apex of the V being located adjacent to the middle of the length of the inner edge of the door, the free ends of the groove terminating at the outer ends of the upper and lower edges of the door and adapted to receive while the doors are in a closed position the roller-bearing end 7 of a spring-actuated stem 8, confined within a casing 9, medially disposed along thefront edgeof each of the vertical lateral walls of the elevator, Ithe stem having coiled about it a spring l0, one end of which bears against the end of the casing, through which the stem projects rearwardly, the opposite end of the spring bearing against a collar ll, carried by the stem adjacent to the roller end 7. The tendency of the spring is to normally force the roller end 7 out of the casing, causing the rollers 7 to engage the open ends of the grooves 6, and as the elevator-car travels in one direction or the other the rollers traveling along the grooves G will force the doors gradually apart until the rollers reach the bases of the V- shaped grooves, (by which time the elevatorcar has reached alanding,) and as the elevator-car moves past the landing it will gradually draw the doors together-that is, close the saine. When it is not desirable to open the door at any particular landing, the stem 8 can be retracted out of engagement with the groove 6 by a lever l2, keyed to a rockshaft 13, carried at the bottom of the elevatorcar, the lever l2 projecting into the elevatorcar through an opening 14C, cut in the Hoor thereof. The free ends of the rock-shaft have secured thereto an arm 15, the free end of which passes through a loop 16, forming part of the rearwardly-projecting endof the stem.

lt is apparent that if the lever l2 is rocked in proper direction the operator can retract the stems from engagement with the grooves 6 just before the elevator-car reaches any particular floor.

To prevent unauthorized persons from either purposely or accidentally opening the doors after the same are once closed and after the elevator has passed any floor, I pivot to one of the doors at a point between the apex of the V-shaped groove and the adj accnt edge of the door a spring-latch 17, adapted to Swingin a plane parrallel to the face of the door and kept in a normally horizontal position by coiled springs 1S, bearing, respectively, on each side thereof above and below, the springs being respectively secured to the latch and to the door. The free-locking bevel end 19 of the latch is adapted both to swing about and engage a wedge-shaped' block 20, carried by the opposite door, or it may snap over said block and engage the same as the doors are forced toward each other. (See dotted IOO lines in Fig. G, showing the sweep of thel latch.) Located on the elevator-car at suitable distances apart to bring about the desired result are stliking-ngers 2l 2l, adapted as the elevator-car travels in either direction and just before the rollers 7 have begun to enter the grooves G for the purpose ot' opening the doors to strike the projecting lug 22 of the latch, tilting the latter out of engagement with its locking-block 20, and thus permitting the doors to open under the action of the roller ends 7 of the stems. As soon as the one finger 2l has passed far enough to escape the latch (or, what is the same thing, as soon as the doors have separated suiiciently to cause the latch to escape the striking-n ger) the latch is returned to its normal position by the springs 1S, (see full lines, Fig. 6,) and when the doors are closed by the further movement of the elevator-car the spring-latch simply snaps over the block 20, thus tightly closing the doors; but as the second strikingfinger 2l has not quite passed far enough to escape the latch in its locking position it Will as the elevator-car keeps moving strike said latch and turn or swing it aside momentarily against the resiliencj7 of the springs 18, which quickly again return the latch into engagementwith the block 20, thus leaving the doors permanently locked or until such time as the elevator-car makes a return trip, when the same or similar operations are repeated.

Having described my invention, what I claim is l. In an elevator, suitable sliding doors, each door having a V-shaped groove disposed along its inner surface, the apex of the groove being disposed adjacent to the medial portion of the inner vertical edge of the door, and the ends of the groove adjacent to the upper and lower edges of the door, a springf actuated reciprocating stem mounted in a suitable casing on each side of the elevatorcar, the outer ends of the stems carrying rollers adapted to travel in the grooves, a rock-shaft carried by the elevator, an operating-lever secured to said shaft, an arm carried by the shaft, the projecting end of the stem being provided with a loop through which the arm is adapted to pass, whereby upon the tilting of the operating-lever in one direction the projecting ends of the stems or those carrying the rollers may be made to engage the grooves or be disengaged therefrom when tilted in the opposite direction, substantially as set forth. Y

2. In an elevator, suitable sliding doors each having a V-shaped groove adapted to receive a stem carried by the elevator-car, a spring-latch pivoted to one of the doors at the apex of the V-shaped groove, the free end of the latch having a locking end and the latch being adapted to be swung in a plane parallel to the face of the door, resilient springs on the opposite upper and lower faces of thc latch for keeping the latch in a normally horizontal position whereby it projects beyond the vertical edge of the door carrying the same, a Wedge-shaped block about which the locking end of the latch can swing and with which it can` engage so as to firmly lock the doors, and suitable tripping-fingers carried by the elevator-car for tripping the latch out of its locking position just before the doors are being forced apart in the act of opening the same, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

DANIEL J. HARDING. VitneSSes:

EMIL STAREK, ALFRED A. MATHEY. 

